The Job Offer
by cold gray
Summary: Life without Astoria is difficult for Draco. Going after the cause of her death, he joins the Ministry (or Scorpius joins him). Which means meeting at least once with Granger, the Minister of Magic. One day, he hears about a marriage proposal, and a furious Weasley, and suddenly, friendship seems to blossom into love. (Dramione)
1. Answers and Questions

**Chapter 1: Answers and Questions**

"Father-!" Scorpius burst into the room. He saw his father sleeping on the bed, and sighed to himself. His father had turned a bit moody after Astoria's death, and had taken to sleeping far longer than was healthy.

"Mm-hmm," Draco grunted, turning to the other side.

"Father, get up or-!" Scorpius realized this wouldn't work. Shouting or threatening his dad never did.

"Aguamenti," Scorpius spoke in a crisp voice, moving his wand elegantly. Water shot out of the wand immediately and sprayed onto Draco's face.

"Aargh!" The feeling of absolute cold water hitting one's face was never pleasant. Draco sat up, water causing his blonde hair to stick to his face. He wiped away the water with one hand and reached over, pulling Scorpius's wand out of his hand.

"Accio wand," he said, his movements lethargic due to just having woken up. Nothing happened. He repeated the spell again, annoyance slowly creeping into his tone. Still the room was quiet and there was no zooming noise.

"Dad-"

"Shut up." Draco was not pleased with Scorpius.

"Dad, that's -"

"By Merlin, shut up."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "It's your wand, Dad."

Draco blinked, looking down at the wand he was holding. Now that he was actually seeing it, he noticed it was his wand. Oh, Merlin, he had absolutely shamed himself in front of his son.

"Hmm, really, Scorpius Malfoy," he said in a cold voice. "Then, where is your wand and why is mine with-"

The door knob turned and a lady looked in. "You're late for breakfast, Draco. Oh!" She gasped, noticing that water was spilled on the bed and the floor.

"Come in," Draco muttered, placing his wand on the table by his bed and standing up.

"Oh dear, what happened?" She asked, not expecting any answer. She took out her wand, murmuring a spell. With a casual flick, the room was in much better shape.

"Aunt Daphne!" Scorpius waved his hand wildly. Daphne smiled, her icy-blue eyes sparkling. Scorpius was always a handful, but he was a polite and well-mannered child. Sometimes, she could see a trace of her sister in him.

Now that he was far more awake, Draco felt ready to deal with the situation. "Scorpius. Why do you have my wand? And where is your own?" His tone was even.

Scorpius gave a nervous smile.

Daphne shook her head. "Scorpius, you know not to prank your father, especially when he is asleep and defenseless." She gave a small smile, and relief flooded through Scorpius, knowing he wouldn't be punished now.

Draco looked between the both of them. "Why do I get the feeling that you will forever encourage Scorpius to play pranks, Daphne?"

"Because I will," the blonde replied evenly. "As the time is ten o'clock, Draco, you may want to come down and have your breakfast."

Draco nodded, muttering something under his breath. As he walked by his son, he ruffled his hair and gave a small smile. He left the room before Scorpius could say anything.

Daphne turned to Scorpius. "Now, Scorpius, I know you have work to do. I specifically asked Albus to mail me all the assignments you had been given to complete, and so far into the holidays, you haven't done any of them."

' _Albus, you traitor,'_ Scorpius thought. But to his aunt, he gave another smile. "Yes, Aunt Daphne."

"So, off to your room." She left as well, going downstairs to reheat breakfast.

Scorpius walked to his room. Now he had a list of work to complete.

He looked around as he opened the mahogany door and stepped in. On the walls, he had stuck pictures they had taken as a family. Except for three, they were all unmoving; Scorpius felt it odd to stay in the room if so many images constantly moved around him. The wall visible past the pictures and the quotes he had stuck up were mint green. His room was large, but sometimes Scorpius felt it to be unbearably lonely.

He walked over to the window, where a silver owl was patiently waiting, knocking at the window glass with its beak once in a few minutes. He knew that owl; it was Albus', named Malachite or Kita for short. Albus had simply chosen the name of a shade of green to name his owl, saying that it was proof he was a proud Slytherin.

He opened the window and the owl hopped in, dropping the box it had been holding in its talons. Scorpius went over to the shelf to get some owl food for Malachite; Albus had warned him that Scorpius would be getting a lot of mail, and advised him to keep some food around to give poor Kita when he came.

Scorpius undid the wrapping carefully, setting aside the cerulean ribbon and opening the covering paper. He saw a wooden box, and opened it from the top, taking out a silky black bag. He undid the twine on that too, and opened it to find sweets. His eyes lit up as they took stock of them; the bag was filled to the brim with pepper imps and shock-a-chocs. And pepper imps were his favorite.

He took the note placed atop the wrapped chocolates, and read it. "From your neighborhood Slytherin, Albus."

Yup, it was Albus, alright.

xXx

Draco was combing his hair when a brown owl landed on the window sill and vied for his attention. He dropped the comb and briskly walked over, opening the window. The owl raised its talon and showed the letter tied to its leg. Draco took it and watched as the owl flew away. Shutting the window, he sat down on a nearby chair and opened the letter.

His eyes widened as he finished reading. Past all the questions in his mind, he wondered why this had come so late. It had been quite some years since Astoria died, so why was he receiving this letter now?

He needed answers. And according to the letter, the only place he could get them from was Hogwarts.

He walked out of the room, clutching the letter tightly as he went downstairs. "I'm sorry, Daphne, but I have to go to Hogwarts immediately."

"What! Draco, this is the second time I'm reheating the food for you. Next time, you can come and do it yourself," Daphne huffed, walking out of the kitchen to see her brother-in-law. They had long disposed of house elves; though the Granger's campaign for the rights of elves hadn't been that popular, it had still caused many noble houses to let go of their elves on charges of abuse. And the Malfoy family had long been hurting their elves.

"This is far greater than food, Daphne," Draco said, looking at the blonde and nodding before he exited the mansion.

xXx

As soon as he was out of the mansion, Draco apparated to Hogsmeade and entered Hogwarts from the wizarding village. He was let in by the protections, and though some students looked at him in confusion, they did not say anything. Draco knew he could have Flooed to the Headmistress' office instead of coming all the way, but he wanted to use some magic.

Soon he was in front of the gargoyle guarding the entrance. It had been repaired after the battle by the group of wizards and witches who had volunteered to fix Hogwarts before education was resumed.

"Password, please."

Minerva McGonagall had decided to continue the tradition of using sweets as passwords in homage of the late headmaster. The passwords were also given to the parents of the students, in case any of them wanted to meet and discuss with the headmistress. "Blood Pops."

"Correct."

The gargoyle leapt aside to reveal a door. He opened the door and went up a narrow spiral staircase and as he went he heard some gentle taps of his boots. Once he reached the top, he knocked at the door, and heard the voice of his old professor. "Enter, please."

He did as told, and threw the letter on McGonagall's desk, eyes cold. "Professor, I believe you can explain this letter I just received."

Minerva's eyes narrowed at the disrespect her former student was showing, but glanced down at the letter, giving a wordless gasp as she understood. She didn't know everything about this, but she knew few who did. Like Harry Potter, who had come to tell her on the day it had all happened. Her student had been rambling, green eyes distressed.

' _Of course it's a secret, Professor, but Astoria always wanted to make sure Malfoy would know that. She worked under me, and she knew there would be a day she wouldn't make it back alive with this case… She designed a letter for him, and constantly updated it. With this, I think he'll be receiving that. He'll probably be coming here first, Astoria discussed it with Dumbledore's portrait – he was the one who had suggested it in the first place.'_

"Professor, I need to know everything about-"

"-now, just a minute, Mr. Malfoy. The only one who can give you the answers is the Headmaster. I think I'll take a tour to make sure teaching is taking place; give you both some privacy, I suppose. You'll need it." She stood up from her chair, and left the room, not waiting to hear anything Draco had to say.

A minute later after the door closed, Dumbledore appeared in his portrait, the twinkle in his blue eyes diminishing as he noticed Draco. His voice was still cheerful, however.

"Ah, Draco! Good evening," he greeted, but Draco only nodded. He wasn't here for pleasantries, he was here for answers.

"So what do you want to know?" Damn Dumbledore. Draco knew he knew what Draco wanted to know about, but he was simply dragging on the inevitable.

"Astoria."

Any look of happiness on Dumbledore's face was replaced with regret. "I know she told you to come here for the answers about her death, but I am not the right one to answer, Draco. This is a Ministry secret, and Astoria only entrusted me with it because she had no choice."

"Please, by Merlin," Draco pleaded. "Only now I learn my wife's death was due to some Ministry problem, and all I want are answers. How could you know how it feels like to have something so sudden put upon you? Her death was ever-so-mysterious, and now the answers are so close I could reach them. And I need it." Draco asked, voice growing stronger as he argued. It was really sudden, and he felt the shock hadn't still left his system. Truth was closure, and he needed the truth. The truth he had been searching for all this time.

"If you truly want to know, Draco, ask Harry or Mrs. Granger – she is the Minister of Magic now, isn't she?"

"Granger. Oh, yes. One of those mud-"

"Don't," Dumbledore said. His voice was soft but the order was clear. Draco smirked, all these years and still the old man was hung up about the use of some slurs.

"Thank you for absolutely nothing," Draco said, leaving the room without another glance.

Dumbledore regretfully looked at the Slytherin as he left. Perhaps it wasn't smart of Astoria to want her husband to know of the truth within the Ministry… But it had been her choice, and Dumbledore wasn't going to stand against it.


	2. The Ministry letter

**A/N: (waves) Hello, I am DarkAgea, cold gray's unofficial beta. We're working together, and she asked me to write an author's note (she's new around here), so here we are.**

 **First of all, both of us thank everybody who read and followed, and a special thanks to the guest who reviewed. It was a welcome surprise!**

 **We hope to update on a weekly basis, but it's not fixed. We'll need some more time before we can definitely be sure how we're going to set our updates, but rest assured, I will make sure cold grey to complete this story, with everything I have.**

 _ **Note**_ **: We're trying our best to keep with canon (which includes revelations in Cursed Child), but there will be slight deviations.**

 _ **Timeline**_ **: This and the last chapter take place in the Christmas holidays during Scorpius' third year (2019). Astoria's death took place in August of the same year (her funeral was during September, when Scorpius was given leave from school to attend, along with Albus who argued he would not let his friend go alone).**

 **If any of you have doubts, feel free to ask! Anyway, on with the chapter.**

 **Chapter 2: The Ministry Letter**

Draco didn't feel that good. It was actually an understatement, considering his whole world had been turned topsy-turvy with one letter. He knew, oh Merlin, he _knew_ Astoria's death wasn't what it seemed like, but he didn't know it had been a Ministry cover-up. He wondered why they would go to such drastic measures to hide the truth from the woman's husband itself, but he would find out. If there was something behind Astoria's death, _someone_ behind it, he would find them and extract revenge.

He was a Malfoy. They did not get such a reputation in the Wizarding World by playing nice.

But right now, this Malfoy needed a drink. He entered the Three Broomsticks, sitting at the corner of the room and hailing a waiter to order Firewhisky. Not too much, just one small shot would ease the confusion lurking in his mind.

As he took the tulip glass from the waiter, the door to the inn opened and two figures walked in. Draco didn't need that long to identify Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.

He drained half the glass, watching them order something. They hadn't noticed him yet, which was good; if they had, if their eyes made contact, Draco would not be able to stop himself from storming up to them and demanding answers in front of everybody. No, these were things to be discussed in private, not aired around.

They took Butterbeer and left the pub after giving Madam Rosmerta some money, exchanging pleasantries. Draco watched them exit into the thick wave of snow outside, turning into mere outlines before completely vanishing. Perhaps it was time he went back home as well. Finishing the glass and paying for the money, he exited the Three Broomsticks.

Just before leaving Hogsmeade, he purchased some Sugar Quills, among other joke items, from Zonko's Joke Shop. He knew he shouldn't be encouraging his son, but he also knew Scorpius would greatly appreciate it.

He pulled his cloak a bit more tightly around him and spun on one heel outside the joke shop, reappearing outside Malfoy Manor. He walked briskly into the house, murmuring a "Hello" to Daphne, who only shook her head and sighed.

"The snow just got stronger, it's far colder outside and you need to eat," she stated bluntly, watching as Draco removed his cloak and put it on the hanger in the hall.

"I'm not hungry."

"I swear to Merlin, Draco Malfoy, if you do not sit down and eat your food this instance, I will do something," she promised, brandishing her wand. Daphne was skilled at Charms, and she did not hesitate to use it.

As the two entered a staring match for a few minutes, Daphne exhaled and lowered her wand. "There's a letter for you."

"Oh, tell me now, don't you?" Draco mumbled, watching Astoria _'accio'_ the letter.

"It's from the Ministry, but I can't imagine why you would be getting one from them…" She trailed off, handing the letter to Draco. He nodded.

"I'll just go upstairs, read the letter and-" Seeing the frustrated look appear in his sister-in-law's eyes again, he added, "I will come for breakfast, promise!"

Having thus mollified Daphne, he went upstairs, wondering what the Ministry wanted with him. But he thought he knew what it would be about.

Giving the package he had brought for his son to him, Draco went into his room, shutting the door and sitting down on the bed. He neatly opened the envelope and took out a letter, unfolding it to read its contents.

In neat small handwriting, it was written-

 _The Ministry of Magic,_

 _Diagon Alley,_

 _London_

 _Re: Application for Employment_

 _Dear Mr. Malfoy,_

 _Congratulations. This letter is to certify that the Heads of Departments and the Minister of Magic have examined your application and believe you to be the perfect candidate for a job at the Ministry, with your experience and skills._

 _However, your request to work as an Auror has been denied by the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as you do not have the proper qualifications for that post. Instead, you have been offered a job at the Improper Use of Magic Office._

 _Thank you for your interest and we look forward to your services. I await your acceptance._

 _Hoping you are well,_

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Elesa Greenberg_

 _Assistant to the Minister of Magic_

Draco sighed. He actually didn't need a job at the Ministry – he had enough money to live comfortably for two lifetimes – but he felt that if he joined the department where Astoria was working before her death, he could probably get answers. Although it was only a nagging doubt at the time he had written the application letter, he had still considered it worth checking out.

His eyes trailed to the second paragraph again _._ His application was _'denied by the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement…'_ Harry Potter, who had been recently promoted in the post after working as a Head Auror, had denied his application. And this meant that the Potter knew something, and didn't want Draco to find out about it. But Draco would find it one way or another, without the Ministry's help if he had to.

' _Well, time to pen a polite rejection letter,'_ he thought, standing up and walking over to his desk to take a quill and some parchment.

"Father!" Scrorpius burst in, panting, just as Draco laid the two items and a bottle of ink on his table.

"Scorpius?"

"Aunt Daphne is calling for you," Scorpius said. "She said it's urgent, and if you don't come, she'll skewer you." He had just gone downstairs for a glass of water when Aunt Daphne asked him to call down Draco – _'it's been twenty minutes, honestly that man doesn't take care of himself at all…'_

"Daphne," Draco sighed, barely resisting the urge to roll his eyes. If it was about his breakfast, he had told her he would eat it. But if he didn't go down, she would come up and probably do what she threatened.

Daphne was quite like his mother, though his mother at least didn't threaten him every day. Speaking of which, he would probably be getting a letter from his mother today or tomorrow. Although she had never liked Astoria, she certainly hadn't wished her dead, and had promised to write weekly letters to Draco, for which she absolutely demanded replies.

Draco walked out of the room with a nod to his son. As he left, Scorpius' eyes landed on the open letter on the bed. He walked over and read it quickly, a small smile growing on his face as an idea hit him. His father would probably kill him for this, but he couldn't simply sit at home all the time and barely interact with society.

Taking the quill kept out, he wondered how to write a letter that sounded polite and like Draco, then he decided it didn't matter. He started writing quickly-

 _Malfoy Manor,_

 _Wiltshire_

 _Re: Application for Employment_

 _Dear Sir/Madam,_

 _I accept your offer, and thank you for the opportunity given to me. I will arrive for work from tomorrow onwards._

 _Yours faithfully,_

 _Draco Malfoy_

He racked through his mind and managed an approximation of his father's signature. Taking out an envelope and quickly doing everything as neatly as possible – the older Malfoy could be back at any minute – he ran to his room and tied the letter on Kita's leg, urging the owl to fly to the Ministry.

Once he was finished, he peeked out of his room, catching sight of his father who was at the top of the stairs, muttering something.

"Scorpius." Grey eyes fell on him. "Why do I get the feeling you're hiding something?"

He couldn't control the nervous smile that came to his face at those words; it was his usual reaction when he was blamed of something he had done.

"Definitely," Draco said, deciding to ask his son later, and entered his room, only to let out a wordless gasp. The quill was placed on his table, its edge soaked in blue ink, and his parchment was missing.

He turned around, understanding what had happened just from that. "What did you do?" He asked his son in his stern voice, folding his arms. The distance between their two rooms, at two ends of the corridor, did nothing to diminish the intensity of Draco's look.

Scorpius's smile only widened. "Well, Father, I may have written a letter…" He ducked his head, knowing he was very dead now.

"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy-"

"I only did it because you've been cooping yourself up!"

Silence. Scorpius' eyes widened, and he raised a hand to his mouth hesitantly as if he couldn't believe what he had said. Just because it was true didn't mean he was allowed to shout against his father.

Something stunningly soft filled Draco's eyes, as Scorpius dared to look into them. It wasn't like Draco was harsh with him, not as harsh as Lucius had been on Draco, but there was a certain distance. Scorpius usually didn't mind it, but at moments like this, that distance felt suffocating.

And then the silence ended. "You will be grounded for three days, young man. And you will not be allowed contact with both Albus and Grandmother." Scorpius opened his mouth to protest, but closed it. He was actually getting off far lighter than he expected, and he knew Draco would not hesitate to raise his punishment.

"Yes, father."

"Now do your homework, Scorpius. Perhaps you can complete that within the three days."

Scorpius turned to enter his room. "Tell hello to Grandmother from me, and tell her you're grounding me! Unfairly!" He didn't wait to hear the reply.

 **A/N: Bold of Scorpius, really bold. What do you think – good, bad, average, could do some work? Tell us; reviews make both of us happy.**


	3. Apology chapter

**Apologies**

Dear readers,

My sincerest apologies for the delay. I'm really sorry for not updating the third chapter. As you see I really am a super-duper procrastinator. Thanks for all the patience. Hope ya all forgive me.

 _~cold grey_

Adding to cold grey, I would like to thank everybody who read, followed, faved and reviewed for your support.

The past two months have been a bit hectic for both of us – lots of work to be completed on time and the year-end exams. Also, cold grey somehow managed to delete the chapter when she had it written up – how, I have no clue – as well as misplace her notes on the chapter. … I am not lying. Anyway, thank you for your patience, and no doubt, cold grey will be writing the chapter as soon as she can.

 _~DarkAgea_


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